Tortoise & The Hare V.2.

In the next segment of the “Where’s Dany?” saga, I’ll take a look at another team that expressed early interest in Heatley, but due to DDH’s right of refusal, have never made an honest pitch for his services.

STL is a great hockey city, with a long, and recently, tumultuous past.  After years of post season appearances, the Blues have recently found themselves both out of the post season, and until very recently, out of the limelight in a competitive sports market.

The presidency of J.D. has witnessed a small, but critical resurgeance, both in on ice performance, and fan interest.

Many believe STL is due to re-emerge in the west as a perennial post season contender, but they’re not there yet.  They have some intriguing young talent, at several positions, but apart from Kariya, and (IMO) to a lessor extend Tkachuk, the team lacks elite talent combined with experience.

With the potential improvement of the franchises economic standing, it is not surprising that they expressed early interest in acquiring Heatley.

But what do they have to offer that can reach the lofty goals of Murrays expectations?

Here’s my proposed trade;

To STL:

Heatley (and 4M advance), Picard

To OTT:

E. Johnson, Boyes, Ellar.

Ottawa would do reasonably well on this trade, but it is heavy on “promise” vs. “proven”.  Boyes is a capable top 6 forward, but he’s far from elite, and on this alone STL improves significantly.  The loss of Johnson is no small cost, but with the impressive prospect depth at defense, they can afford his loss.  Ellar represents a decent prospect, and, as a Dane, would fit nicely playing alongside fellow countryman Peter Regin.

Tick-tock Dany.

GN